Using virtual worlds as a platform for collaborative meetings in healthcare: a feasibility study.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Virtual Environments

Background:

• Geographically dispersed healthcare teams require effective communication tools.
• Virtual worlds facilitate immersive, multimedia interactions for remote collaboration.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate the efficacy of virtual worlds for remote healthcare quality improvement team meetings.
• Assess user experience and task performance in virtual versus face-to-face settings.

Main Methods:

• 20 participants from 6 healthcare quality improvement teams engaged in tasks in virtual or face-to-face settings.
• Collaborative task performance was measured, alongside participant experiences via questionnaires and interviews.

Main Results:

• High quality of collaborative task outcomes observed in both virtual and face-to-face settings.
• Virtual worlds offer unique tools and potential group-dynamic improvements, but usability challenges exist for less tech-savvy users.
• Participants felt absorbed in tasks but did not perceive the virtual environment as 'real'.

Conclusions:

• Virtual worlds are effective platforms for healthcare quality improvement meetings.
• Ensuring technical reliability and providing support for users with weaker computer skills are crucial.
• Further research into virtual world applications in diverse healthcare settings is recommended.